Recipes for Shabbat

Soufflé

Making a soufflé is fun. While they are a bit temperamental, soufflés really aren't terribly difficult to make. You start with a cheese flavored white sauce, thickened with egg yolks. Incorporating stiffly beaten egg whites into the sauce creates its structure. Carefully separate the eggs because even the smallest amount of yolk (fat) mixed in with the whites will prevent the whites from whipping up properly.

You need to know that the structure of the soufflé is very fragile and that you have to fold, not stir, the beaten whites into the cheese mixture because over mixing will decrease the air in the mixture and prevent it rising properly. Soufflés can be sweet or savory and the sky is the limit in terms of added ingredients.

Several other key points anyone making a soufflé should keep in mind are dish size. If your container is too small the mixture will overflow the top and if the container is too large the soufflé won't rise as well. The best baking dish for soufflé recipes are those especially made with straight, high sides. Of course any dish will do but to get the soufflé to rise very high the straighter sides do it best. A one and a half quart dish is a good size. A 3 quart or larger is sometimes used but the baking is not always as even. Having the oven preheated is crucial and the most important tip is……. don't peek once the soufflé is in the oven. Peeking will cause the soufflé to collapse and while it might taste OK, it will look like a flat mess.

BASIC CHEESE SOUFFLÉ (dairy)

Preheat the oven to 400. Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan or top of double boiler set over boiling water. In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper in a small dish, then whisk the mixture into the melted butter. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. After the flour mixture is cooked for the two minutes slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, to make a smooth and thick white sauce. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add grated cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Whisk egg yolks to break them up. Then add a few tablespoons of the cheese sauce to them to warm them. Now add the warmed egg yolks back into the cheese sauce and whisk to combine. The sauce may be completed to this point in advance and left at room temperature for an hour. Beat egg whites with a portable electric mixer until shiny and floppy peaks are formed when beater is withdrawn. Whisk 1/3 of the whites into the cheese sauce. When well mixed, fold the remaining 2/3 of the whites into the sauce. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake about 15 minutes until the surface of the soufflé is puffy and brown, but the middle jiggles when the pan is gently shaken. Bring to the table for serving immediately. To serve, cut portions from the side so that each serving has some firm soufflé and some of the saucy part. Serves 6

FOOD PROCESSOR CHEESE SOUFFLÉ (dairy)

Preheat oven to 375. In the bowl of a food processor combine the eggs, cream, grated Parmesan cheese, prepared mustard, salt, and pepper. Process the ingredients until you have a smooth mixture. Add the grated cheddar cheese and diced cream cheese, processing constantly until smooth. Pour into a buttered 2-quart baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven until light brown and set, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 6

CHEATER CORN SOUFFLÉ (dairy or pareve)

this one of those recipes that looks like you've spent a lot of time on, but
it's so easy it's thrown together in 5 minutes

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine the corn, creamed corn, sugar, flour, milk and eggs. Mix well. Pour the soufflé mixture into a greased 3 quart baking dish or bowl. Bake at 350 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until set. This  recipe doesn't puff the way a traditional soufflé does because of the weight of the corn in the recipe. Serve immediately. Serves 8

SALZBURG DESSERT SOUFFLÉ (dairy or pareve)
Call it by its Austrian name, Salzburger Nockerl. Make three mounds in the
baking dish--they will puff into mountains. Dust heavily with confectioners'
sugar before serving

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400. Generously butter an oval baking dish or skillet attractive enough to serve from. Use a metal pan approximately 12 by 8 inches or a ceramic one measuring 10 by 8 inches. Both are common sizes for oval baking containers. In a medium size mixing bowl, break the egg yolks up with a fork and stir in the vanilla and lemon peel. Sprinkle the flour over the yolk mixture. In another bowl, using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they cling to the beater. Add the sugar and beat until the whites form stiff, unwavering peaks. With a rubber spatula, stir an overflowing tablespoon of the whites into the yolk-flour mixture, then  reverse the process and fold the yolk mixture into the rest of the egg whites, using an over-under cutting motion instead of a mixing motion. Don't overfold. Using the rubber spatula, make 3 mounds of the mixture in the dish. Bake the soufflé in the middle of the oven 10 to 12 minutes or until it is  lightly brown on the outside but still soft on the inside. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.
From Time Life Foods of the World

SOUFFLÉ AU CHOCOLAT (Chocolate Soufflé) (dairy)
A little more complicated but the taste makes the work worthwhile.

NOTE: Make sure the chocolate-yolk mixture is cooled to room temperature before folding in the egg whites, as it will deflate them if it's warm. This must be served immediately after it's baked.

Place the 4 egg yolks in a large bowl and set them aside. Place the 7 egg whites in a separate large bowl. Lightly cover the bowl of egg whites; set aside at room temperature (do not chill--the whites will not achieve maximum volume if they are cold when beaten). In small cup, dissolve the instant coffee or espresso powder in warm water; set aside. In small heatproof bowl, combine chopped chocolate, butter, and salt. Using a microwave or hot water bath melt the chocolate and butter together. Heat and stir frequently until the chocolate is almost melted, stir until smooth. Stir in the dissolved coffee of espresso. Set aside to cool until just warm. Whisk egg yolks lightly to mix. Whisk the yolks into the warm chocolate mixture, then gradually whisk in warm orange juice. Set aside to cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally. Mixture will thicken as it cools. Adjust rack to center of oven. Butter a 1-1/2 quart soufflé dish then sugar the dish by placing a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar into it (in addition to
the amount called for in the recipe) and tilting the dish until all buttered  surfaces are sugared. Pour out any excess sugar. Set prepared dish aside.
When the chocolate-yolk mixture is cooled to room temperature and the whites are at room temperature, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk the chocolate-yolk mixture well to loosen it.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and add the cream of  tartar. Beat and when whites are very foamy and increased in volume, begin to add sugar, about a tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until all sugar is added and meringue stands in soft peaks (when beater is pulled away and up from meringue, peaks form but curl over on themselves). Do not overbeat!! Add a large spoonful of the meringue to chocolate-yolk mixture; whisk in thoroughly to lighten. Now, working quickly, add remaining meringue to chocolate-yolk mixture in three additions. Use a large spatula to fold in each addition and scrape bowl bottom and sides. Don't fold in the first two additions too thoroughly; fold in the last just until no white streaks show.

Quickly turn into prepared soufflé dish; mixture will be about an inch below  the top of the dish. Spread level and place in preheated oven. Close oven door. IMMEDIATELY REDUCE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 350 Bake for 40-42 minutes.

DON'T PEEK! When soufflé is done, it will have risen a bit above the edges of the dish, and the center will scarcely quiver (if at all) when dish is  lightly tapped. When baked for lesser amount of time, the very center of the  soufflé will remain slightly "saucy".

Remove from oven; serve IMMEDIATELY (a large spoon is helpful here). For Serving: This is wonderful when accompanied by lightly sweetened whipped cream. If you don't like the coffee flavor you can substitute 2 tablespoons of light rum or another not-too-strong liqueur that goes well with chocolate (hazelnut, for example). Serves 6 servings

Eileen Goltz, a professional chef and caterer, is the author of the new cookbook, Perfectly Pareve.